A relegated story about the fall of Saigon reaches a new generation, thanks NPR.

Stephen Hawking believes in something far more incredible than spontaneous generation. Takes some serious “wisdom” to make that leap… On a related note, the last sentence of this piece is as sad as it is erroneous.

Your Texas Longhorns kick off the season tomorrow, to quote Dietrich, “I’m as happy as a little girl”.

Man encourages 8-year-old to cuss and thus is charged for “impairing the morals of a child”. Not shocked that this happened but I am shocked that the authorities of the Connecticut town have such a charge available to them.

That’s right, he said it. lt had to be said. Somebody got to say it. The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson took a swipe at Taylor Swift’s talent or lack thereof. Here’s a picture of her from the archives, Kanye is fark’d in, Toth’s son is not,

Ichiro Ozawa, possible Prime Minister of Japan, thinks Americans are “simple-minded”. His words reminded me of a description of Americans given by a fictitious Japanese Prime Minister,

They have the most violent culture in the world, yet they worship justice. They venerate making money, but their roots are found in ideals.

While we’re talking about Japanese politicos (real or imagined), Kazutaka Sangen, mayor of Taiji, has spoken out against certain people whose sole desire is to see Japanese whale hunts (like Taiji’s dolphin hunts) end. His words seem to eliminate any room for discussion,

We will pass down the history of our ancestors to the next generation, preserve it. We have a strong sense of pride about this. So we are not going to change our plans for the town based on the criticism of foreigners.

Game. Set. Match. Way to stick up for multiculturalism Mayor Kazutaka. Though “foreigners” doesn’t quite do justice to the word which you probably said: gaijin.

On to the linkage…
About as a heart-warming story as you’re going to read…I understood why Bengals wideout Chad Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Ochocinco (Chad Eight Five), 85 is his number after all. You’d think with how tech-savvy Chad is, he could have plugged in “eighty-five” into Google Translate and found out that the correct Spanish translation is ochenta y cinco, not ochocinco. Oh well, at least he has his own cereal, mistranslated name and all… Mohler demolishes so-called theistic evolution…Jennifer Aniston’s latest offering flops at the box office, big surprise since she seems to want to resurrect the chest-clutching Rachel Green character in every one of her movies… Jim Furyk gets DQ’d from a PGA tournament because his cell phone alarm doesn’t go off, oops…Ever watch that Tea Party Scene in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland? The masterminds who orchestrated it were the March Hare and the Mad Hatter (below). Perhaps that’s what we can call these 2 billionaires who are the masterminds behind the populist Tea Party movement…

I know that in these combative and hypersensitive times the word is thrown around by every which side of any political issue. When I think of tyranny I usually think of the “fat, pompous, bad-tempered, old tyrant” from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. However if recent allegations are to be believed this may be the new face of tryanny (well 3 faces but who’s counting?),

Yep, that’s right, a Christian chick band = tyranny. You can read the lurid and oppressive details here.

In summary, Barlow Girl was asked to perform at some concert for the troops. The concert was not mandatory and predictably 80 out of 100 soldiers decided not to attend. I don’t blame them, their music is not in my wheelhouse either. The trouble came when the 80 soldiers were confined to their barracks and (gasp!) ordered to clean it out. They were ordered, imagine that soldiers were ordered to do something, what is the Army coming to?

The soldiers felt they were singled out and dealt with differently because they chose not to attend the proselytizepalooza. Their cries were heard by something called The Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Mikey Weinstein, the group’s president, lauded the courage of these soldiers in reporting such “egregious, unconstitutional religious tyranny”. That’s rich…

At least they were given the option of not listening to average music crowned by piety-driven falsetto. Sorry but I think they did these guys a favor, I would have much rather clean the barracks with a toothbrush than watch BG in concert. Like I said, not in my wheelhouse

As for Mr. Weinstein’s um, liberal use of the word “tyranny”, he would be much better served in applying it to actual examples of it.

Well if you were to ask Antoine Dodson, he’d probably tell you to “hide yo kids, hide yo wives”, but of course the NCSE (National Center for Science Education) simply wants a bit of your personal info.

Here’s a tidbit from one of their mailers:

Incidents of antievolutionary activity often require swift coordinated local action, and the fastest and most efficient way for NCSE to get in touch with its members when creationism threatens is by e-mail.

I wonder if the NCSE has considered implementing their own version of the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory System (right).

Judging by the paranoia-laced paragraph in their mailer (“antievolutionary activity” etc.), it might not be a bad idea. What does “swift coordinated local action” entail anyway? S.W.A.T. teams armed with copies of PBS’ “Evolution” series? A burnt offering consisting of creationist material? A Blackhawk helicopter dispersing hundreds of anti-creationist leaflets over areas afflicted with Biblical literacy?

Then again, after the construction of AiG’s “unsettling” Creation Museum, I’m sure the terror level would perpetually reside in wavelengths greater than approx. 585 nm.

Advisory system or not, every responsible citizen should make sure to report any suspicious “antievolutionary activity” to their nearest public school. That way, they can put you in contact with the NCSE and you can file your report. Constant vigilance!

Pretty soon we’re going to have to redo the old joke: Pentecostals believe there is a demon under every rock, Baptists believe there is a Pentecostal under every rock and the NCSE believes there is a creationist under every rock.

The other fourth? She’s probably too busy focusing on her future presidency (a preview here) and has no time for such trivialities as putt-putt.

Here are the week’s links:

Residents of Sac-town, hide your kids, hide your wife, there are zebras on the loose… Mark Driscoll’s helpful thoughts on Anne Rice’s departure from the shores of Christianity… You gotta use Starbucks’ designated size names (Tall, Grande, Venti) or face getting the boot like this prof did… Ann Coulter? She’s complicated… Chicharito made his Man U home debut last Monday and was greeted with “rapturous applause”… A Houston teenager is slain by a tag team consisting of a permanent resident and an undocumented alien, her uncle “would like to see what they’re doing in Arizona done here” so clearly, he must clearly be a racist…This week’s entry into the “Best Illustration of Romans 1:21-24” sweepstakes. A contest which unfortunately we have all submitted an entry to…

Mexico’s rising star and child of promise, Javier “Chicharito” (Little Pea) Hernandez is everywhere. Scoring goals against the World Champs in Azteca, off his face against Chelsea in the FA Community Shield Cup; gracing the front page of the Daily Mail’s football section under “Premier League Podcast” (below, second from left), and last but certainly not least residing in the lung of a senior citizen.

The kid hasn’t played one game in the EPL and he’s put up next to League stars Fàbregas, Lampard and Gerrard. Hope the pressure doesn’t crush our beloved little pea…

It is not a secret that I belong to the Vladimir Putin Admiration Society. I have long chronicled the PiM’s daring and virile pursuits, check it out here. Coming face to face with President Reagan, his nation’s sworn enemy, without flinching might just top anything else that Volodya has accomplished, until now…

Putin’s insatiable drive to unseat Sir Winston Churchill as the greatest Prime Minister of all time has taken him into the cockpit of a firefighting plane. His mission? To battle the raging fires which threaten the Rodina.

“I’m going in, cover me Porkins!”

Using the finely honed accuracy which served him well in his trek to save the Siberian tiger, Putin doused the burning inferno with some earth juice scoring a “direct hit”.

I did not appreciate the AP writer’s attempt to dismiss Putin’s heroism,

The stunt was classic Putin. In past years, he has copiloted a fighter jet, ridden a horse bare-chested in Siberia and descended to the bottom of Lake Baikal in a mini-sub. Just last month he drove a Harley Davidson motorcycle to a biker rally.

Stunt? Stunt?!?! Really? This is who the man is, a man on a quest to cure the world’s ills. To make this world a better place one tank of water at a time, all for the benefit of us the little people.

Shame on you AP journo for your nay saying.

Oh, that these United States had such a figure at the top!

You know if a piece of the Russian coastline suffered the same fate as the Gulf, Putin be the first one down there personally plugging the hole until BP or Lukoil could get their act together and cap it.

Long live Volodya!

No Putin post on this blog ends until I give a shout out to Animotion’s greatest hit…